Rain-soaked tree drops

water on her temple

she wakes canopied by knowledge—

capable of procreation

but pleasure is the lesser evil.

Lilith understood, worlds ago,

powers of regeneration & birth—

reverberant & restrictive,

forces a choice.

Ecdysis, snake and uterus,

coiled in autarky,

transmigrating cycles release

slivers of epidermis & endometrium:

evidence of ancient liaison.

Jen White has had work published in Watershed, Flumes, and SPURNEDzine. She is a master propagator of Australian fingerlimes in northern California. You can find her on Twitter, @inkysquib and Instagram, @jenny2cents.